Kuwait’s National Assembly has been dissolved for the second time in less than a year, paving the way for another round of elections.

The Gulf state’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, made the announcement on state television on 7 September.

According to Article 107 of the Kuwaiti constitution, elections for the 50-seat National Assembly must be held within 60 days from the date of dissolution.

The emir previously dissolved parliament in December 2011. Elections in February ended with a parliamentary majority for the opposition, leading to months of political limbo, making progress on critical infrastructure investment and decision-making impossible.

An estimated 10,000 opposition activists protested against the government opposite the National Assembly building at the end of September calling for Kuwaiti government to immediately dissolve the 2009 Assembly.

The body had been put in place by a constitutional court ruling in June, annulling the country’s February election results and reinstated the previously body, elected in 2009.